The idea of an
action mockumentary is unique enough to warrant praise, but the execution of Killing Gunther is so bland that the
result is wholly forgettable regardless of the creative concept. The action is
often fast-paced, but the addition of a sketch-comedy sensibility completely
eliminates any impact the violence might have other than cheap laughs.
Ultimately, this feels like a rejected idea from a “Saturday Night Live”
episode, which makes sense considering writer/director/star Taran Killam left
the cast of the comedy sketch show to make this film. He managed to put
together an impressive cast, including Arnold Schwarzenegger briefly appearing
in the title role, but all of the talent feels sadly wasted without better material.

I no longer pay
much attention to film’s award season, and Stronger
is a perfect example why that is. While the film itself may rarely rise above
serviceable to the true-story it is telling, there is something wrong with how
award nominations are handed out if none of the actors involved in Stronger were nominated for major
awards. Award nominations are more likely to go to a film because of the
political message it contains (which explains why Steve Carell would receive
nominations for Battle of the Sexes
rather than Last Flag Flying) or how
much money the studio spent to get it (Wonder
Woman broke records for the millions of dollars spent to try and buy
nominations), and this is why some of the quieter performances of the year end
up passed over. This is not to say that the other nominees are undeserving, but
it is shameful that movie without a political message or millions to spend
might not get the attention it deserves as a result.

After testing
the waters of the mainstream by casting movie star Marion Cotillard in their
last film, Two Days, One Night,
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have returned to their roots with The Unknown Girl. But even with a movie star,
the brother filmmaking team has never abandoned their social realism, both in
style and the content of their narratives. This is true of The Unknown Girl, which never feels generic despite existing within
the narrative structure of the mystery genre.

Despite the
title, Viceroy’s House is about the
elimination of the position of Viceroy of India with the transition of British India to independence in 1947. A final Viceroy is
tasked with the job of overseeing the transition, which inevitably divides the
country even further due to certain political aspirations. Had this remained
the focus of Viceroy’s House, it
could have been a compelling historical drama, but the screenplay by Paul
Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, and Moira Buffini splits the time between
actual events and an imagined melodrama between star-crossed lovers torn apart
by the politics. The result is uneven, often feeling as though more time would
be necessary to care about this collection of characters. One critic remarked
that this material might have been better suited for a mini-series, and I tend
to agree.

Horror movies
can often get away with having unlikable characters, if only because of their
inevitable demise. Although there are deaths in Blood Money, it is clearly not a horror film. This also means that
there are no guarantees about which obnoxious character may survive, although
there are a lot of options within the cast of characters. It is difficult to
even say who the bad guy of the story is, especially since the obvious choice
is also the most likeable character in the film. Even with a tried-and-true
narrative borrowed from classic cinema, Blood
Money is an irritating movie due to its unrelatable characters making
illogical choices.